Formative Assessment

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The potential impact of consistent formative assessment on student learning is supported by current research and educational practices that have shown both its necessity and benefit in the every-day classroom. Beth Ackerman, in promoting the use of formative assessments in the context of differentiated instruction, maintains that continuous formative assessments “collects the learners profile, interests and readiness” and “checks the learner’s prior knowledge of a subject as well as the learning process” (2012, p. 20). More recently, Connie Moss Susan Brookhart and Beverly Long found that “Struggling teachers did not have a sense of the lesson objectives or criteria, nor communicate them to students. Therefore, there was no way to tell if the …show more content…
Janice Wiersema, Barbara Licklider, Janette Thompson, Suzanne Hendrik and Cynthia Haynes recognized, in their work with college freshmen and Iowa State University, that “As students transition from high school to postsecondary education, their past experiences influence individual beliefs not only about learning, but also about their abilities to learn. These implicit theories of intelligence predict how hard learners will work to master a given task” (2015, p. 1). This appears to indicate that the ability of students to become life-long learners is based upon their experiences with learning while in their youth, supporting the point that the outcome of learning and mastery is found, first and foremost, in the mindset students bring to the problem. Aaron Hochanadel and Dora Finamore charge educators by asserting that “Faculty should not focus on making just good grades, but how to challenge that person and teach them to create solutions. In addition, teaching a growth mindset and grit facilitates long-term goals and how to achieve them” (2015, …show more content…
One integral part of utilizing a sound curriculum is the use of multi-leveled assessments. In a review of educational assessment Abdallah Ghaicha found that assessments can positively impact curriculum in two ways. According to Ghaicha, assessments can confirm that the current curriculum is appropriate and performing to the desired standard, as well as identify components that are not performing appropriately or at substandard levels (2016, p. 218). Ghaicha concludes that “individual courses and/or programs can be added, removed, or modified. Individual course structures or teaching methods can be evaluated and changed if necessary” (Ghaicha, 2016, p.